Comments on: Ugpan

By: regie esula

regie esula — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:53:20 +0000

In Cadiz City, one city of Negros Occidental province. Ugpan is one of their source for food. It is easy to catch, especially on low tide…..

Thanks for featuring ugpan on net. tnx

By: Marketman

Marketman — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 01:27:18 +0000

Paleontologist, many thanks for that comment, we now know more about this unusual brachiopod… :)

By: Paleontologist

Paleontologist — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:35:55 +0000

To shed a light on this enigma: It’s a brachiopod of the genus Lingula (as already stated by Marnie). The “tail” actually is the “foot” these organisms use to attach themselves to the seafloor while the shell protects the tiny arms with which they collect food particles from the water current. They are not related to clams. Lingula is a special case in the brachiopod phylum as it lives within the sediment, using the “foot” to retract itself below the sediment surface when threatened.
The earliest known Lingula fossils have an age of more than 500 million years.
Hope to have the opportunity to taste a recent one one day :-)

By: boygee53

boygee53 — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:10:03 +0000

i haven’t eaten this shellfish for decades. i came from malabon city and this balay was one of my favorite. (tocho) can anybody adviced me where to buy this balay in metro manila wet markets? tnx in advance. my email is boygee53@yahoo.com

By: Brother

Brother — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 10:14:05 +0000

Reminds me of “aninikad” in Bohol – a long-ish, conical shell, dark brown in color. Found inside the fringing reef off southern Panglao. A pile of these was also around P10, and we threw them into a pot, added a cup each of sea and fresh water, some chopped ginger and garlic. You needed a safety pin to persuade the little buggers out of their shells, but their intense flavor made it worth it.

By: ria

ria — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:02:28 +0000

looks like worms!!

By: GJN

GJN — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 02:35:27 +0000

Just last week I emailed a sister abroad if she remembers a shellfish with tail which we as children enjoyed. She correctly remembered it…UGPAN! And now it’s featured here in MM’s blog. How’s that for synchronicity!

By: mcp

mcp — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:24:39 +0000

we call this paros in marikina. when i was younger, i just ate the tail and discarded the meat in the shell, hehe

By: marissewalangkaparis

marissewalangkaparis — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:14:50 +0000

Wow! Memories..my lola used to cook this with tahure and crushed black beans…like Maricel brought back memories. And Lydia P…yes we used to eat the tails by biting one end and they were nice and soft (contents). I don’t think I see them in the markets anymore. It’s only now that I hear that they’re called ugpan. My lola never called it by name….

By: lui

lui — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:01:07 +0000

No worries Apicio. Seems like en tocho is the preferred cooking for ugpan/balay in the central region.